


count my zeroes to ten

by kiyala



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Inception, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 21:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2243367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Combeferre is hiding out in a safe house after a job, slowly realising they've been set up, when he gets company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	count my zeroes to ten

**Author's Note:**

> written for the AU prompt meme I'm doing on tumblr for #7. partners in (literal) crime. Inception AU because why the hell not.

It's been forty minutes since Combeferre's arrived at the safe house, thirty minutes since he's done a thorough sweep to make sure that it's just as secure as he'd left it four months ago, and ten minutes since he's finished running diagnostics on both the PASIV devices he has with him. He has his laptop out on the coffee table in front of him, in between the twin silver cases, trying to keep up with what happened during the three hours they were under, because he has the sinking feeling that someone has been waiting for this job to happen, to take advantage of those three hours that none of them can account for.

The reports he reads are horrifying, countless dead or injured in a terror attack that had taken place out in the open. What's worse is the fact that whoever is behind this is clearly trying to pin it all on Enjolras. When Enjolras is incriminated, so are the rest of them and none of them had the time to even be warned about this when they'd parted ways under the gun fire that had broken out almost as soon as they'd finished their extraction. The others are still out there and he doesn't know how up to date they are with the situation, with the danger they're in if they don't scatter to their safehouses before being recognised. Combeferre has already set up alibis for the entire team under their real names, but now he's going to have to do the same for their aliases. The second half of their payment for the job hasn't come through yet, but that's the least of Combeferre's concerns right now. This whole job, including the information that Enjolras has managed to get out of their mark, is going to be pointless if they're all behind bars.

He stands up when he hears somebody at the front door, picking up his gun with one hand and shutting his laptop with the other. There's a short hallway that leads from the lounge to the entrance and he stands at the mouth of it, gun pointed at the door. The wall should give him enough cover if he needs it and from there—well, he'll improvise. 

He flicks the safety off as the door opens and Courfeyrac stands there, frozen with surprise.

"Courfeyrac," he sighs, but keeps his gun raised until the door is shut and locked properly. 

"Hey," Courfeyrac greets, dropping his travel bag by the wall and walking towards Combeferre. "You look stressed. How worried do I need to be?"

Combeferre flicks the safety back on and tucks his gun into the back of his pants so that he can pull Courfeyrac close, kissing him hard. Courfeyrac makes a quiet sound of surprise against Combeferre's mouth but gladly deepens the kiss. It's been thirty nine hours since they've seen each other. Thirty nine hours of not knowing whether Courfeyrac was okay, or captured, or if he was even alive. It's been hell, and Combeferre figures that he can allow himself one more kiss before he finally pulls away. "Things are looking really bad right now. I could explain it to you, but it's probably better if you see for yourself." 

He sits Courfeyrac down in front of his laptop and lets him read, going into the kitchen to make them both some strong coffee. He's going to need it for the work he'll have to do and he knows that Courfeyrac is going to insist on staying awake with him while he does it, despite the fact that he already looks exhausted. 

"Fuck," Courfeyrac says, looking up from the screen as Combeferre returns with their mugs. His eyes are wide and his face is pale. " _Fuck_."

"I don't know where Enjolras is." Combeferre sits down with a heavy sigh. " _Alive_ , hopefully."

"Check with R," Courfeyrac tells him. He doesn't miss the way Combeferre frowns. "I know it's not ideal, but Enjolras is going to be safe with him."

"For now," Combeferre allows, "but that's not going to be the case months, _years_ from now. You've seen how unstable they are. I'm just looking out for Enjolras."

"I know you are." Courfeyrac takes Combeferre's hand into his own and squeezes gently. "But Enjolras said the same thing about us and five years later, I think we're doing okay."

Combeferre's expression softens for a moment. "We're doing great."

"So give them a chance too. I know you take your position as Point Man seriously even when we're not on jobs, but you really don't have to look out for everyone all the time, you know. It's not your fault if they screw up. _If_ they screw up. And before you start, _this_ isn't your fault either."

Combeferre shakes his head. "I should have known that someone would set us up. I already made false trails for all of us before going into the job with our real names, but all it's going to take is a quick check of airport security footage."

"Well, we weren't in Paris at the time of the attack," Courfeyrac points out. "That has to work in our favour."

"Do you really want to explain that we were in Russia, performing a highly illegal extraction instead?" 

"No, but of the lesser evils…" 

"That's not good enough," Combeferre replies. "We're not going to be caught or charged with _anything_. Not if I have anything to say about it. I've kept us out of trouble this long, and I'm going to get us out of this as well."

"And you're going to track down who's actually behind it too, aren't you?" Courfeyrac asks, because aside from Enjolras, there is nobody else in the entire world who knows him better.

"Yes," Combeferre nods. "You don't need to stay up with me, okay? I can see that you're tired. When's the last time you slept?"

"I don't know, but I know you wouldn't have made me this whole mug of coffee if you actually expected me to listen to you." 

Combeferre snorts quietly. "Well, I know you."

Courfeyrac puts his mug down and wraps his arms around Combeferre, kissing him. "I'm here to remind you that we're going to be okay, and none of this is your fault. No matter what you think."

With a sigh, Combeferre nods. "Okay."

"And you're going to check in with Grantaire to see if Enjolras is with him."

"Okay, I'll do that too."

"And once you've contacted Grantaire and we know where Enjolras is and you've started scanning the systems you need, you're going to take a break and I'm going to blow you."

Smirking, Combeferre kisses Courfeyrac's temple. "Okay. I can definitely do that."

**Author's Note:**

> title from OneRepublic's Dreaming Out Loud


End file.
